The floods have changed many norms. The sprawling nine acres of tarmac that forms the technical area of Thiruvananthapuram airport is otherwise a strictly restricted defence area managed by the Indian Air Force (IAF). But ever since the floods, the place teems with civilians.
On the tarmac, five Mi 17 V5, a high-end military transport helicopter, team up with three ALH Dhruv helicopters, which are part of the Sarang display team, to extend relief and rescue the flood-hit across the State. Joining the fleet is the moderate-life transport aircraft AN 32, and the heavy-lift transport ones like IL 76, C-130, and C-17 that ferry relief and rescue teams from across the country.
And around the tarmac, there is a blend of the agile poise of the IAF personnel and the casual camaraderie of the civilians who are allowed entry as volunteers, transport facilitators or government officials.
Work begins at the air force station at 6.20 a.m. when the first flight gets ready for its sortie. Before the take-off, the ground staff would have got it ready to ferry relief to the flood-hit inaccessible areas.
The pilots would have obtained the coordinates for the flight from the operation control room (OPS) based on the need in each area and would have fed it into the aircraft GIS. Each of the helicopters would do at least four such sorties round the day till 6 p.m.
During the day, the OPS room at the station — that has VHF sets, a map that has the area of operation plotted, and other communication facilities now operated jointly by government officials and IAF personnel, guides the movement of each of the aircraft and gives information about its content.
Brinda Sanil, Motor Vehicle Inspector, enters all these details into a register that is then worked upon by her colleagues in the Motor Vehicles Department who organise vehicles that would carry the off-loaded materials to their destination.
Sourcing trucks
“We inform about our need to our colleagues across the district who source the trucks from private parties. At times, we have to use force. But largely, the vehicle owners have been very cooperative,” say Motor Vehicle Inspectors Anil Kumar and Prajeesh M.K.
As soon as the aircraft arrives, teams of volunteers, mobilised by Women’s Battalion Commandant R. Nishanthini, line up keeping with the discipline of the tarmac. They help offload the materials. While sending relief to the flood-hit centres or areas, the materials are packaged in air-drop mode.
Shift in focus
The focus is now slowly shifting to relief from rescue, say the IAF personnel. “At first, the transport would mostly be of NDRF and other rescue teams, who would bring in their equipment and off-load themselves. Then, it was mostly the airdrop materials. Now, it is mostly ferrying of relief materials,” they say.
“We are sure on a war footing here. Most of us have not slept for more than 12 hours in the last five or six days. It is tough. But that’s what we are trained for. That’s what we are made for,” says Group Captain P.K. Awasthi, Air Force Station Commander.
